Yes, Your Highness
by PopPinkInk
Summary: Amy discovers some hidden feelings for one of her best friends. Will she confront them, or run from them?
1. Chapter 1: A Troubling Realization

Amy had always admired Sally Acorn- after all, who wouldn't? The princess was a natural born leader, an excellent fighter; she was kind, brave, and so very smart- and she was also beautiful.

Amy had always thought that Sally was beautiful. She also noticed her other friend, Sonic, had thought so, too.

Whenever she had glanced at the two discussing strategies or just shooting the breeze, she had noticed the way the blue blur looked at the ground squirrel princess. The admiration that everyone had for Princess Sally was evident, but she saw something deeper. Amy had seen longing in Sonic's eyes- she saw the want, the need that burned there, strong and low like a smoldering flame.

At first, Amy had tried to ignore that look Sonic had given Sally, and the strange way it made her guts twist into knots. When ignoring it didn't work, she decided to fight it. She tried her hardest to try and break his gaze by forcing herself in between Sally and Sonic. She clung to him, chased him, trying anything she could think of to try and distract him long enough to quell the secret fire that Amy knew burned for Princess Sally.

It all was, of course, unsuccessful. Sonic had always managed to brush her off and escape right into Sally's arms. Failure after failure- her plans only seemed to drive him more and more into the princess's "good graces". It was starting to drive Amy mad.

Just before, she had seen Sonic and Sally together; thinking that they were having one of their rare moments of alone time, Amy had seen them share a quick, albeit tender kiss. She turned right on her heels and ran for home, trying to make it there before her tears overwhelmed her and her shaky legs gave out beneath her.

Amy threw herself down onto her bed with a frustrated sob, hot, angry tears streaming down her face. She grabbed one of the many plush pillows on her bed and hugged it to her as she let out all of her tears.

She cried for what seemed like forever. By the time the tears had stopped flowing, her head and her heart ached. She sat up with a sniff and reached for some tissues on her nightstand to blow her nose with. She wiped at her wet eyes with the back of her gloved hands before laying back down on her bed to stare up at the ceiling.

She didn't understand why she felt this way. She didn't understand it at all. Was she jealous? Jealous of what? Was she jealous of the kiss?

_That can't be it_, Amy thought with a small sigh, closing her eyes and furrowing her brow. _Why would I be jealous of the kiss? Was it because it was with Sonic?_

It had been true, at one time, that Amy had chased Sonic on the basis of trying to get him to fall romantically in love with her; however, that was many years ago and Amy was no longer a child fawning over any hardheaded hero. In fact, the more Amy thought about it, the more she realized she only saw Sonic as an older brother type. After all, he had always been kind to her even when she knew she had annoyed him.

_Then... Maybe it wasn't a kiss with **Sonic** I was looking for..._

Amy's eyes shot open at the thought. She had never let that thought cross her mind before- it surprised her, but only for a moment. As she ruminated over it, everything slowly started to make sense. She had only felt that awful, gnawing feeling bubble up whenever she saw Sonic and Sally together. It all checked out- the envy, the frustration, the aching loneliness...

_I'm jealous of **Sonic**!_

Amy couldn't help but let out a relieved, elated laugh, bringing her hands up to her mouth as she let a surge of relief wash over her.

"Oh, thank Chaos!" She chuckled to herself, shaking her head and sighing. She finally had an answer to the question that had been plaguing her for so long. Her joy, however, was soon cut short by another, more troubling realization. "Oh... Oh, Chaos...!" She clasped her hands tighter over her mouth, a pit of dread forming in her stomach.

_But that means I... I want to kiss **Sally**...!_


	2. Chapter 2: Secret Decisions

Tears sprang to Amy's eyes once again as she confronted the feelings that had lain dormant inside her for so long. Her vision swam as thought after thought relentlessly bombarded her.

_Am I gay for Sally? Oh, Chaos, do I tell her? What would I even say? _

She suddenly realized she had been holding her breath and quickly pulled her hands away from her face as she gasped out a shaky sob, finally releasing the floodgates of her anxious fear.

She held onto herself tight enough to bruise her arms as she cried. She felt a sickening dread rise up from her stomach as the same question kept coming back to her mind.

_Do I tell Sally?_

Sally was one of Amy's best friends. She had told Sally everything- no matter how embarrassing. She had always entrusted the princess with all her secrets, but now she wasn't so sure she could bring herself to tell her _this_ secret.

The uncertainty of how she would react was what made Amy give pause. If she told Sally she was gay, it was one thing. But if she told Sally she was gay _and in love with her_, it was an entirely different matter. She wanted Sally romantically, but she didn't want to lose her as a friend if her confession took a turn for the worse.

Amy sighed heavily and wiped at her eyes again, sniffling as she stood up from her bed to walk into the bathroom. She stood over her sink and turned it on to splash her face with cold water. She glanced at herself in the mirror- red eyed and blotchy tear-stained cheeks.

"Ugh, I need to pull myself together," she mumbled to her reflection, closing her eyes as she threw water into her face, sighing as it hit her hot skin. She turned off the water and perched herself on the edge of her bathtub, hunched forward as she tried to shift through and gather her thoughts.

Her head and her heart ached from all the crying she had done that day. She knew from experience she wouldn't be able to come up with any good plans in her current state. She needed to relax before deciding on a battle strategy.

She stood up and turned the tub faucets on, pulling away to strip as she waited for it to fill. It didn't take long for the bathroom to fill with steam as water filled the bathtub.

When it was ready, Amy lowered her body into the warm water. With a long, weary sigh, she let herself sink into it up to her nose.

_A hot bath will clear my head, _she thought as she closed her eyes, letting her head fall under the water as she relaxed into the bath.

With her body wrapped in a towel, Amy exited the bathroom, carrying her dirty laundry over to her hamper. She dried herself off and pulled on some pajamas, taking the towel and using it to dry her quills.

Although she felt a little better than before her bath, she still couldn't shake her uneasiness about the whole predicament. She sighed and tossed her damp towel into her laundry hamper before she climbed back into bed, pulling the covers over her.

She stared up at the ceiling as she started to think about her plan again. Every scenario she came up with all hit a dead end one way or another at the point where she told Sally she was in love with her; one plan after the other was scrapped and Amy started on a different one.

Eventually, sleep overtook her- but she found no rest in her dreams.

Amy was sitting atop a hill overlooking Knothole in the sunshine of a perfect summer's day. It was warm and bright. Amy could feel the gentle breeze on her face and in her quills as she sat atop the hill watching clouds drift by.

She heard a voice call her name and she turned to see who it came from. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled when she saw Sally climbing the hill to join her. Seeing the princess' smiling face sent her heart soaring.

With a sudden gust of wind, the sky grew dark and a thunderstorm with large, black clouds full of lightning rolled in. The wind whipped at Amy's face as rain began to pour from the angry clouds overhead. She turned back towards Sally, crying out to tell her to turn back, only to see her running back to Knothole without her. Amy tried to follow her but as she took a step, her foot sank deep into the muddy ground beneath her as the storm only grew in intensity.

The rain came down in blinding sheets and the ground was turning into a muddy cesspool beneath Amy's feet; the thunder was deafening and the lightning blinding as it stuck nearby trees causing them to catch fire despite the rain. She was left to fend for herself in the storm, and she was growing desperate as she tried to claw her way back onto solid ground. Every movement made her sink further and further into the cold sludge- soon, she sank up to her ears in it. With one last, desperate scream to the storming sky, her head disappeared into the confines of the muddy earth and she was swallowed whole by the suffocating void beneath.

Amy sat up in bed with a start as she gasped for air, clawing at her chest as she reeled from her nightmare. She sat, panting, as she waited for the last remaining threads of her dream to fade away from her, looking around her room in the dim light of dawn that peaked in from behind her curtained windows.

The adrenaline rush from her night terror slowly dissipated, but she was still left with the deep lurking fear that had attacked her in her sleep.

_Maybe it wasn't just a dream_, Amy thought as she pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging herself tightly.

She knew what it meant- and she knew what to do.


	3. Chapter 3: Conditional

Amy stayed in bed until she heard the birds start to sing in the new dawn and she trudged over to her dresser to start getting ready for the day ahead.

Once she was dressed, she made her way into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea—she didn't feel much like eating after the previous night's events. As she reached for a mug in one of the cupboards, she heard a knock at the door. Amy paused and sighed heavily as she abandoned the task to see who was knocking at such an early hour. She had a few ideas about who it might be…

She took a deep breath and put on a smile, opening the door and peeking out at her morning visitor. It was none other than the blue blur himself, arms crossed over his chest and foot tapping the ground impatiently. Amy's heart sank. She would get no respite from her emotional breakdown after all.

"Oh! Good morning, Sonic!" She chirped as cheerfully as she could while her stomach immediately started twisting into anxious knots. Sonic smirked at the pink hedgehog when she finally opened the door, giving her a casual wave.

"Morning, Aimes. Took ya long enough to answer—slow morning, huh?" He teased, putting his hands on his hips. "Hey, I know it's early," he quickly added when Amy frowned at him, knowing how quick tempered and violent she could get. "But I gotta ask you something important and it couldn't wait."

There was a small pause between them as Amy mentally kicked herself for having even answered the door in the first place.

**_Seriously? _**She thought, grinding her teeth a little in frustration. If she turned him away, she'd never hear the end of it— Sonic was never one to give up or drop something _important_. If she let him in, she wasn't sure that she would be able to keep her act together.

"Aimes? Hey, Amy!"

She blinked and looked up at Sonic in surprise; he had moved closer and was waving a hand in her face. Her cheeks suddenly grew hot as she realized she had gotten lost in thought.

"Oh, sure thing, Sonic," she said as she stepped aside for him to pass into her house, shutting the door behind them. "Can you make it quick? I've got a lot of important stuff to do today."

Sonic snorted and shrugged, putting his arms up behind his head as he made his way over to the couch in Amy's living room to sit down. She followed him and sat across from him in an armchair, trying to put some space between them. Maybe if he didn't get too close he wouldn't notice how out of sorts she was feeling.  
_But then again, he never really pays me much attention_… That thought brought her some comfort and she relaxed a little into her seat.

There was another pause as Amy watched Sonic get comfortable in her home; he brought a foot up onto one knee and nonchalantly flicked some dirt off his shoe. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, clearing her throat.

"So? What's so important?" She asked a little sharper than she had intended. Sonic glanced over at her in slight surprise but shrugged it off.

"I want to propose to Sally," he said bluntly; as soon as the words left his lips, an icy chill rippled through her. She couldn't breathe for a moment as she processed the shocking news. _What_ did he just say? _Propose?_

"W-what?" She croaked, gripping at the hem of her dress tightly, trying to find something to ground herself to as her world was rocked yet again. Sonic rubbed at the back of his head and frowned, pretending to be preoccupied with the pattern of the carpet on the floor.

"Listen, Amy, I know you've got this weird thing for me or whatever, but—" he stopped as he thought for the right words,"—but that's just _not_ gunna happen, you know?" He scratched at his cheek and glanced back over at her, waiting for Amy to either say or do something—violent or otherwise.

She blinked back at him in surprise, having almost forgotten that no one but her had been a part of her breakthrough from the evening before. Everyone—including the blur himself—still thought she was romantically interested in _him_. Quickly remembering she was trying to put on a normal face, she looked down at her feet to avoid his gaze.

"O-oh, well, I—I just meant that—"she stopped and gasped as Sonic grabbed her hand in his own. She looked up to see him leaning towards her, a serious look on his face.

"You're like a sister to me, Amy. That's why I knew I could come to you with something as big as this," he murmured, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. Amy swallowed hard and tried to smile at him as he continued. "I want to propose to Sal. I don't know when, but… I know I want to spend my life with her. Grow old and junk…"

She watched his face carefully as he spoke; the flickering flame of desire she had always seen in his emerald eyes when talking about Sally seemed… Different now. There was a warmth that she hadn't noticed until now.

She felt the ache in her chest come back to her. With every word he spoke about marriage plans, a stabbing pain shot through her. The prospect of losing Sally was slowly cementing itself into her reality. She tried her best to put on the supportive face but the sting of tears threatening to spill over was too much and Amy found herself crying.

She pulled back from a surprised Sonic as she covered her face with her hands, unable to stop the tears any longer. She didn't look up when she felt a hand on her shoulder as Sonic tried to comfort her.

"H-hey, Amy, it's okay… C'mon, you can't seriously be crying over that kid crush, right? Look, I'm not going to stop being your friend just because Sal and I get married…"

_Stupid! It's not about **you**! _She thought bitterly, gritting her teeth as she listened to him drone on. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, shaking her head and pulling back from him. There was an awkward silence as she tried to regain her composure—neither of them made eye contact until Amy had calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm just… So _happy_ for you," she muttered as convincingly as she could without bursting into tears again. The words tasted bitter in her mouth. It was all obvious lies, but Sonic seemed to take it as fact. She glanced up to see him grinning at her, too taken up with his own excitement about his special plans. He rubbed at the back of his neck and scuffed the carpet with his shoe.

"Thanks, Aimes… I hope she says yes," he laughed and reached forward, ruffling her quills as he walked past her towards the door to let himself out. "Listen, you can't tell anyone, okay? I want to surprise her with it…"

Amy grunted; she heard him open and shut the door. She let out a shaky breath and leaned forward, bringing her hands back up to her face.

"Oh, Chaos, what am I going to do?" She whispered to herself, gripping at her quills as she stared down at the floor, letting the tears fall passively.

If she said nothing to Sally and let Sonic propose… If Sally said _yes_… Amy knew she would regret it for the rest of her life. She wouldn't be able to bear seeing them together in marital bliss. She already couldn't even bear to see them kissing. She might have to leave Knothole, might have to start all over again, without her best friend in the whole world to help her brave through it all. Her head swam with these possible futures until she finally settled on one.

She sat up and clenched her hands into fists in her lap, a rush of determination surging through her.

"Alright then," she mumbled, standing and dusting herself off. She wiped at her eyes once more and smoothed her quills before she marched towards the door, stepping out into the daylight.

_I don't have any choice… If I lose her, I'll do it on **my terms**._


	4. Chapter 4: Confrontation

Amy marched herself through Knothole, filled with the confidence only those determined to make a rash decision can know. She had to make it to Sally's home before her courage- however foolish- disappeared.

She raised her fist and knocked on the door, taking the small moment before Sally answered to steel herself in preparation of her reckless confession. She sucked in a deep breath and held it as the door slowly swung open.

_Okay, Amy! Just say it! No fear!_

She swallowed her nerves as Princess Sally Acorn, still bleary eyed and bed-headed from sleep, answered her knock.

"Oh, morning Amy," Sally yawned, smiling sweetly at the pink hedgehog as she stepped to one side. "Just in time for breakfast. I was just about to make some pancakes." She motioned for Amy to come in before she turned and headed back into the kitchen, leaving the door open for her to follow. Amy stood there frozen in the doorway as all her courage instantly drained from her.

_Oh, Chaos, what am I doing?! _She mentally screamed, slowly and stiffly stepping into Sally's home to follow her into the kitchen. _I can't do this, not now! Abort mission!_

Despite every fiber of her being telling her to turn tail and run, Amy soldered on and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Everything else about this scenario was peaceful- idyllic even. The bright sunshine streaming in through the kitchen window The smell of maple syrup and pancakes filling the whole home. Sally standing by the stove, humming softly to herself as she cooked.

The more Amy sat quietly observing the little details, the more at ease she became. Sally had always had that effect on her. Even by doing the littlest things, she could effortlessly lift Amy's spirits.

Her heart swelled and she felt a smile tugging at her lips as she watched her. She was getting caught up in the fleeting daydream of _every_ morning being like this one- quiet, relaxed… With Sally. That's when she remembered. _**Sonic**_ wanted this, too.

"Sally, I need to tell you something important!" Amy blurted out, unable to stop herself. Sally paused mid-pancake-flip and looked over her shoulder at her. The look on Amy's face must have been enough to convince her to turn off the stove and join her friend at the table.

"What is it Amy?" Sally asked gently, reaching across the table to take Amy's hand. Amy hesitated at the touch but took her hand firmly. She looked up into her blue eyes and saw genuine concern in them.

Her heart was hammering away inside her chest and her breath came short and swift- it was almost enough to distract her from finding the words she needed to say.

"Sally, I… I have feelings for you!" Amy gasped, instantly filled with a strange mixture of relief and regret. She looked away as soon as the words left her mouth. She didn't want to look Sally in the eye.

She waited anxiously for something- _anything_\- to happen in the following moments. But instead she was met with a stunned silence. Amy bit her lip and forced herself to glance up at Sally, already starting to feel the familiar sting of tears prick at her eyes.

To her surprise, Sally didn't seem to be upset or distrubed by the news. Instead she only seemed to be taken aback- just surprised. Whatever Sally had been expecting Amy to say hadn't been enough to prepare her for _this_ kind of bombshell.

"Oh," Sally breathed, sitting up a little straighter in her seat. Amy knew the princess well enough to notice this was her shifting into a more serious mindset. It was the same way she sat when formulating her battle plans.

Whatever plan she had come up with must have fallen apart. She let out a long sigh and pulled her hand away from Amy, bringing it up to run it through her auburn hair.

"Amy… I don't know what to say," Sally began, her voice slow and quiet.

_Of course you don't, _Amy thought, her heart sinking into her stomach. _This was a stupid plan! What was I thinking?! _She swallowed hard and stood up quickly, almost knocking her chair over behind her. She opened her mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was a high pitched, nervous laugh as she turned to leave. Sally got up and took a step towards her to take her by the arm.

"Amy-"

"No, it's- it's fine." Amy shook her head and pulled away from her, holding onto herself tightly. She looked up at her and gave her a half-hearted smile. "Really. Just… Forget I even said anything, okay?" Sally frowned and took a step back, looking down at the floor as she anxiously knitted her fingers together.

Amy bit her lip hard and spun around on her heels. Without anymore grand declarations, she left Sally alone in her home with her thoughts. For the third time in such a short span of time, Amy had to make another tough decision.

_What do I do now?_


	5. Chapter 5: Retreat

Amy slunk back towards her home, dragging her feet with each step as she lost herself in thought.

_What should I do now? _She asked herself as she mechanically opened and shut the door. She paused in the entryway of her home and pressed her back against the door, slowly sinking down to sit on the floor. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, trying to find some comfort from somewhere deep inside herself. She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the door.

Amy knew she needed to put some space between her, Sonic, and Sally. The imminent marriage proposal and her failed confession combined would surely ruin her. Seeing Sally every day, knowing the princess knew her true feelings while also waiting for Sonic to pop the question—it would only keep her emotional wounds from closing.

But where would she go? Knothole had been her home ever since she was a child. The only other place she had ever called "home" had been the Kingdom of Mercia—but that had fallen long ago to the robot armies lead by the evil Dr. Robotnik. Going back now would mean certain roboticization, and despite the hurt she felt now, Amy would never willingly submit herself to the same fate that claimed her parents and so many of her friends.

She sighed heavily as the thought of all the lost futures she could have been a part of had Robotnik never risen to power; it started to overwhelm her. Thinking about her family always made her feel ill. Even if she still had her cousin, Rob, their relationship was almost nonexistent given the circumstances, and the thought of him brought her little comfort.

That's when she remembered—_Knuckles_ had helped Rob and the remainder of the Mercian people fight back against Robotnik on more than one occasion. The red echidna also just so happened to be away on one of his stints on Angel Island, far away from Knothole Village.

Amy perked up at that realization as the spark of an idea lit up her thoughts. Standing and hurrying into her room, she threw open the door to her closet and dug out an old battered suitcase. She put it on her bed and turned to start shoveling clothes from her dresser into it. She wasn't sure how long she'd be away from Knothole—or if Knuckles would even let her stay—but she figured that right now, this was her best option to get away from the fallout of her confession.

"It'll all work out," she muttered to herself, slamming the lid of her suitcase shut. If she hurried, she might be able to convince Tails to give her a ride.

_I'll just leave for a bit, calm down, and come back when I'm ready to face the music. I'm not bailing, I… _She frowned to herself and hesitated for a moment before hefting her suitcase up, spinning around to head out for the last time that day. _I'm just taking a break!_

The hardest part of this plan was trying to sneak very obvious luggage through the village without getting stopped and interrogated by anyone she knew, but through sheer luck, Amy made it to Tails' workshop unassailed.

She crept into her friend's workshop as quietly as she could, placing her suitcase by the door before heading deeper into the disorganized mechanical mess to find him. She found him, predictably, working on the Tornado—or, more accurately, she nearly stumbled over him as he was busy working on the plane's undercarriage.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, Tails, I didn't see you!" She gasped, scrambling back away from him to let him stand up. "I didn't step on you, did I?"

Tails sat up and dusted himself off, frowning to himself then at Amy for having interrupted his work. His expression softened when he saw she was genuinely concerned and he stood with a sigh.

"Hey, Amy. Don't sweat it, I'm fine. What's up?" He smiled as he walked past her, heading over to a workbench covered in blueprints and scrap paper to sort through them for the notes he needed.

Amy followed him and looked over his shoulder, twiddling her thumbs as she stalled to try and find the best way to ask him for his help. Originally, she thought this was going to be a simple get-in-get-out sort of favor, but now she was suddenly feeling a little guilty for interrupting him.

"Well, I actually need your help with something," she said bashfully, giving him a sweet smile when he turned to look at her. "I was wondering if maybe you could give me a ride to Angel Island?"

The fox blinked back at her, clearly surprised at her request. He furrowed his brow and brought a hand up to his chin as he regarded her with faint suspicion. Amy stiffened and maintained her smile, her hands gripping each other hard as she realized she might have to elaborate.

_Please don't ask why, just please don't ask!_ Amy chanted mentally, biting her lip as she waited for Tails' response.

"Well, sure, I guess," he said with a casual shrug, returning Amy's smile—albeit his being more genuine than her own. "Knux should be due for a supply drop by now, and Julie-Su asked me to deliver some letters to him, too. Might as well kill three birds with one stone!"

Amy felt the weight that was pressing down on her lift almost entirely and she clapped her hands, letting out a childishly excited giggle. She was too busy feeling relieved to be embarrassed by it as she skipped back over to the workshop's door to retrieve her luggage.

"Thanks _so much_, Tails!" She beamed, resting her suitcase on top of a crate near the Tornado for loading before taking a seat on an old box to wait for Tails to ready the plane. "You have no idea how much of a life saver you are!"

It took what seemed like forever for Tails to load the Tornado and get it ready for the trip to Angel Island; as soon as he gave her the signal, Amy hopped in, more than ready to leave Knothole behind her.

The trip itself was a long one, but the more distance that was put between her and her blunder at Sally's house, the more relaxed Amy became. The roar of the wind and the Tornado's engines drowned out her anxious thoughts—for the first time in the last twenty four hours or so, she could focus on something other than her own introspection. It was freeing and just what she needed.

Tails landed near the base the Chaotix team had built on Angel Island back when Knuckles first founded it. Amy climbed down while Tails opened the cargo hold to unload the supplies he was there to deliver. He handed Amy's suitcase down to her first—she put it to one side before turning back to help the fox unload the plane. As she reached up to grab a box Tails was handing her, she heard clunky, heavy footsteps headed towards them. She paused and looked over her shoulder to see the red echidna himself coming to greet them. She bit her lip and put the box down, waving to him.

"Hey, Kunx! Long time no see!" She called as cheerfully as she could while her anxiety slowly started to resurface. This whole plan depended on getting him to agree to let her stay. She had to play her cards right for it to work. Luckily, she knew Knuckles had a strong sense of honor and duty to help those in need—she had seen it herself on several occasions and it was one of his traits that she most admired.

_Just play up the helpless girl shtick and it'll work_, she told herself as he got closer to them. Knuckles seemed surprised to see Amy, clearly having expected Tails to make the delivery alone. He gave her a polite but stiff nod before turning his attention to the fox.

"Amy. Tails. Need help with anything?" He asked coolly, putting his hands on his hips. Tails popped up from the cargo compartment and smiled down at his friend.

"Nah, I think I got it. Oh!" He disappeared from view for a moment before reappearing, waving a pack of envelopes in one hand over his head. "Julie asked me to get these to you!" He hopped down from the Tornado to join them, handing the pack of letters over to Knuckles. The echidna looked down at them with a wistful smile and tucked them safely underneath one arm.

The look on face made Amy feel more uneasy—it reminded her too much of her current predicament with Sally.

_No! Don't get distracted now! _She scolded herself and quickly shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She took a deep breath and took a step towards Knuckles, bringing her hands up and clasping them together over her chest as she got ready to beg him for refuge.

"Knuckles, could I stay here on Angel Island for a while?" She asked as sweetly as she could, putting on her best helpless damsel act. It might have been a little manipulative, but she was desperate. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Knuckles turned to her, at first surprised, then suspicious. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, holding his letters in one hand as he gave her his full attention.

"Why? Something wrong in Knothole?" He asked in his own firm, but caring way. "Has Sonic been messing with you again?" Amy winced a little at the mention of the blue blur but she wasn't surprised he had assumed it was something to do with _him._ She had come crying to him more than once in the past about Sonic when she was still in denial of her true feelings. It was only naturally he would assume it was about Sonic but that didn't make it any less embarrassing.

"W-well, no, not… Exactly," she managed to stammer out, trying her best to push past it. She looked down at her feet and scuffed the ground with her boot. She glanced back up at the Tornado, where Tails had gone back to work unloading the supplies, and hesitated. If Tails was listening to them talking about Sonic, he would surely mention it to him. They were like brothers, after all. Then it would domino into Sonic telling Sally she had fled to Angel Island—then the princess would surely tell him about Amy's confession. Just the thought of that possibly happening made her shudder. She wasn't ready to deal with _that_. "It's… Complicated," she mumbled, glancing back up at Knuckles.

The echidna had been watching her closely the entire time while she ran through her nightmare scenario and had surely seen her reluctance to talk further about whatever it was that had brought her so far from home. He made eye contact with her for a moment then let out a long sigh, looking away and rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Alright. If you really need a place to crash for a while that badly," he grumbled, turning to look back at the base. "The Chaotix are out on a mission right now, but you can stay in one of the spare rooms." Amy smiled and nodded to him, grabbing her suitcase and turned to look back at Tails, giving him a friendly wave.

"Thanks for the ride, Tails! See you soon!" She called cheerfully to him; he looked up and smiled back at her, giving her thumbs up before he went back to work. She nodded again to Knuckles as she walked past him to head towards the base to unpack her things, silently thanking him for not prying too much into her motives for staying.

_Good ol' Knuckles… He always pulls through right when you need him_. Amy smiled to herself as she walked through the base, looking for the spare rooms Knuckles had mentioned. She passed by the Chaotix members' rooms—Vector, Charmy, Espio— all labeled with a metal plaque with the name of the owner. Eventually, she came to a door with no name plaque. Deciding this must be what Knuckles was talking about, she opened the door and stepped inside.

Her assumption was correct—it was an empty bedroom, ready for a new member to take. She placed her suitcase down on the bed to unpack her things when she heard the door to the adjoining bathroom slowly creak open.

She spun around to see who was there, letting out a surprised gasp and quickly averting her eyes. Rouge the Bat was standing in the doorway with only a towel covering her modesty and steam from a hot shower following her out of the bathroom. Rouge seemed just as surprised as Amy, but only half as embarrassed—in truth, she seemed more annoyed than anything.

"What are _you _doing here? Aren't you old enough to look after yourself or did you get tired of playing grown up?" She sneered, crossing her arms across her chest. Amy frowned and balled her hands into fists, trying to keep her temper under control. She didn't want to throw a fit—that would only prove Rouge right about being childish. She turned back to her suitcase and tried to distract herself with unpacking, huffing in annoyance.

"_I'm_ here because Knuckles is my _friend_ and he said I could stay. What are _you_ doing here? I didn't know they let thieves join Chaotix," she muttered, taking a few pieces of clothing over to the closet to hang them up. Rouge snorted and made her way over to the bed, taking a seat next to Amy's things. She peered into the suitcase and clicked her tongue, starting to pick through the pink hedgehog's clothes.

"What makes you think Knux and I aren't on friendly terms, too?" The batty vixen chuckled, picking up a shirt and holding it between her forefinger and thumb before tossing it away in distaste. It landed right on Amy's foot. This almost sent her over the edge—her hands shook as she snatched it up off the floor and dusted it off, folding and holding it to her chest like a shield. Rouge was getting underneath her skin; and the bat seemed to be aware of that. Amy shut her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself down, gritting her teeth as she glared back at her.

"**Listen**," Amy began, her voice shaking as she tried to keep as calm as she could. "I am **not** having a good day and I do **not** want to deal with this right now." There was a pause as Rouge regarded her with cool passivity, tilting her head to the side with a small smirk. The ease with which she got a rise out of Amy was almost as infuriating as her cocky quips.

"Oh? What's the matter, girly? Have another fight with your little _boyfriend_?" That's what did Amy in. It was one thing for a friend like Knuckles to mention Sonic in passing—it was an entirely different matter for someone like Rouge to try and use him as bait to start a fight. It didn't help that it was a particularly sore spot for her at the moment.

The rage bubbled up to the surface and finally exploded. Hot, angry tears filled her eyes. Amy stomped her foot firmly and balled up her shirt in her fists before throwing it at Rouge's feet. She stormed out of the room and stomped down the hallway, blindly following it until it led her to a dead end. She bit her lip hard as the tears streamed down her cheeks. In a moment of bad judgement, she kicked the wall in front of her as hard as she could. Amy immediately regretted it as a shot of pain ran up her leg. She let out a tearful yelp and doubled over to grab at her foot.

_Stupid bat! _She sniffed and angrily swiped at her eyes with the back of her free hand, clumsily sitting down on the floor. Her shoulders slumped forward as a mixture of frustration and disappointment only added to her tears.

This was supposed to be _her_ get away. It was supposed to be just her alone, recuperating and planning her next move. Now she had to deal with all that _plus_ that bat using her personal problems to needle her until she snapped again. Amy shut her eyes tightly and slammed her fists against the ground, suddenly feeling stupid for letting her temper get the better of her.

_If you can't handle **her**, then how are you going to handle **Sally **and **Sonic**? _

She took a few deep breaths to force herself to calm down, standing up when she felt she had regained a little of her composure. She took a step and winced as she put her weight down onto her now injured foot. It really only brought the painful stab of shame, serving as a reminder of her recklessness. She clenched her teeth and stood up straight as she powered through it, making it back to the room. Amy stopped outside the door and braced herself to face Rouge again so shortly after her outburst—then she opened it.

"I'm just getting my stuff back," she announced loudly, trying to diffuse the situation a little bit. She was only met with silence, and as she stepped into the room, she saw it was empty. Rouge must have let before she came back.

She let out a sigh of relief and sat down at the foot of the bed, taking a little comfort in the fact that at least she wouldn't have to face her again for a short while. She turned back towards her suitcase to finish unpacking, blinking in surprise when she saw all her clothes were neatly folded and put into one pile on the bed.

She frowned to herself and quickly checked to make sure nothing of hers had been taken. Everything was all there and that made Amy feel even more foolish. She stood and put her clothes and the suitcase away inside the closet before she threw herself back onto the bed. She rolled over onto her side and buried her face into the mattress.

_I guess I should apologize, _she thought bitterly. Hopefully Rouge had decided to leave the island altogether after their little run in—but Amy doubted it. _At least I won't have to swallow my pride just yet anyway…_


	6. Chapter 6: Misjudgment

After the rocky run in with Rouge at the start of her stay, Amy was surprised to have the next few days all to her lonesome. She knew she would probably not see much of Knuckles, as he was busy guarding the Master Emerald, but knowing that Rouge was _also _somewhere on Angel Island put her on edge. Something about that batty burglar just irked her but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Deciding that no one—not even the world famous jewel thief herself—would bully her into staying in bed, moping and worrying, for the entirety of her visit, Amy began to take daily walks. At first, she was worried about getting herself lost as she had only been to Angel Island on a handful of missions—even then, she had always been escorted around by someone that knew the terrain.

A few excursions later, however, Amy began to get a little more confident and her walks gradually became longer as she headed further inland from the Chaotix HQ. The change of scenery and the exercise helped lift her spirits, and the more she discovered on her own filled her with an odd sense of accomplishment she readily embraced. It certainly felt better than the regret and anxiety she had been feeling up until then.

Amy had discovered that not too far from the Chaotix base was a sprawling field of wild strawberry bushes. When she first stumbled upon it, she recalled Charmy Bee having mentioned something about the home he had found on Angel Island— he had called it Strawberry Fields. Something about finally getting to see what her friend had described amused her, and she returned the next day with a basket and blanket she had found in the base, ready to pick some fresh fruit and enjoy the sunshine.

She lost herself in her task for hours in the fruit filled field, only stopping when she had filled her basket entirely. She set out the blanket on the grass and sat down to bask in the remaining hours of the bright, warm day. She sprawled herself out with a contented sigh and closed her eyes as a warm breeze gently began rolling through the strawberry covered field. The breeze brought the sweet smell of ripened fruit to her. She lounged in the sunshine and let her mind wander to thoughts of home—and Sally.

As relaxed as she was, Amy didn't face her problem with the same fear she would have a few days earlier. Instead, she only met it with an exhausted sense of unease. Her pain had numbed from a sharp sting to only a gentler throbbing pang. Despite this development, she still was unsure of how to approach the topic. Everything she had tried to piece together fell apart as she tried to expand upon it.

Amy knew she couldn't take back to what she had told Sally, and she had come to peace with that, for the most part. But how was she going to move forward, into this new and frightening future she had created?

Every passing day away from Knothole, away from Sally, made it more difficult for her to think of returning. She had no idea what she would be returning to anymore—her old life was gone. When she returned, Amy would be met with a new life; one where she explore her true self, homosexuality and all. When she returned, she might have to lose the ones she cared for more than anything in the world—Sally, Sonic, all her friends. She would have to expose them to this new side of her—she couldn't just ignore it or hide it anymore, not after telling Sally how she felt. She would have to show them her true self and they might decide that they didn't like what they saw.

If she stayed on Angel Island, she would never have to face that.

Amy opened her eyes and watched the clouds overhead drift by, lazily carried by another breeze that blew through the open field. Among the soft rustle of the foliage, she could hear the unmistakable flutter of leathery wings growing closer to her. She sat up and quickly turned to face the sound, frowning as her suspicions were confirmed.

Rouge landed a few paces away just as Amy caught sight of her. The bat saw her and gave her a casual wave as she sauntered over. Amy huffed quietly to herself as she turned her back on her, more than ready to ignore her. That was when some small part of her reminded her of her promise to apologize for their earlier run in.

_Ugh, I forgot… What do I even say? "Sorry I'm a huge crybaby"? _She rolled her eyes and shook her head, glancing up to see Rouge helping herself to a seat on the blanket.

The bat said nothing to Amy as she crossed her legs, nonchalantly making herself comfortable as she intruded on the pink hedgehog's alone time. Amy shrank away from her and pulled her knees to her chest as she looked out at the scenery around them.

"You're awfully good at hiding, Amy Rose," Rouge chuckled, glancing over at her with a playful smirk. "I guess that's the one good thing Freedom Fighters are good at, hm?" Amy could feel herself already starting to prickle in annoyance, turning back to her and smacking a hand down on the ground between them.

"What's your problem?" She snapped and scrambled to get up on her feet, bringing her hands up in an angry shrug. "Do you just _like_ being rude or something?"

Rouge let out a lilting laugh and brought a gloved hand up to her mouth, taking Amy by surprise. The bat sighed and waved a hand dismissively at her.

"Calm down, I didn't come to fight," she chuckled and pointed a finger at her, her playful demeanor suddenly changing into something more serious. "I just came to find out why you're _vacationing_ here."

Amy blinked at her and frowned, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. She knew she had to be careful at what she said around Rouge—past experiences had told her that. The bat may be able to keep a secret, but only if _she_ wanted to, and Amy didn't like how flippant the thief was.

"I'm just holding down the fort for the Chaotix," Amy eventually replied, turning away from her so the bat couldn't read her face. "Vector asked me to make sure people like _you_ weren't messing with their HQ." There was a pause as she let the lie hang in the air for a moment before she dared to glance back over her shoulder. Rouge was staring back at her, clearly unimpressed. She sighed and looked at her nails, her wings fluttering ever so slightly behind her.

"Amy, how stupid do you think I am?" She asked rather curtly, glancing up at her with an icy gaze. "My mama didn't raise a fool. I've never seen you cry like that before, so whatever is _really_ going on has to be something **_big_**. So spill it."

Amy flinched at the mention of her earlier breakdown, rubbing at her arm in embarrassment. Rouge's aggressive insistence nagged at her, and against her better judgement, she decided to let her guard down to tell her the truth. She took a deep breath and spun to face her, looking the bat directly in the eye.

"You wanna know? **_Fine_. **I told Sally Acorn I loved her and I got rejected," she said slowly, frowning at how bitter the truth tasted in her mouth. This was the first time she had said the words aloud. She turned her head and looked out across the field, steadily keeping her gaze away from Rouge. Silence fell upon the two of them, but only for a moment before a strong gust of wind picked up and carried it away across the field.

"Is that all?" Rouge asked with an incredulous snort. Amy balled her hands into fists and glared at her out of the corner of her eye, feeling a strange wash of betrayal come over her.

"'Is that all'? _Seriously_?!" She suddenly burst out, unable to control herself. She held her arms out to her sides, shaking them in frustration. "Is that why you wanted to know? To just—just _kick _me when I'm down?" Her vision got foggy as tears began to form in her eyes. She couldn't see Rouge's reaction through them but it hardly mattered—her silence spoke volumes, and Amy's thoughts began swarming to fill in the gaps for her.

_Why did I think she'd understand? Of course she wouldn't! No one would reject her looking like… Like **that!** _Amy bitterly thought, shutting her eyes tightly as she worked herself up into a frenzy.

"Just because you can't even _fathom_ rejection doesn't mean you get to laugh at me for it!" She suddenly shouted, her voice echoing in the open air as she jabbed a finger in the bat's direction.

Amy had only just opened her eyes when she saw Rouge stand and make a step wordlessly towards her, grabbing Amy by the wrist. The touch was like an electric shock through her body. She quickly pulled her arm back, balling her hand into a fist ready to lash out at her. As she looked up, Amy's eyes met Rouge's, and she paused.

There was sympathy swimming within Rouge's aqua hues—a sadness Amy could recognize. She slowly lowered her hand back to her side and opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She looked away and Rouge put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Amy glanced up in surprise at her. Rouge met her gaze with a sad smile. The anger that had built itself up began to slowly wash away; Amy had realized her misjudgment. "I didn't mean to sound so callous." She pulled away and looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set at the far edge of the field; long, orange and purple stripes were cast across the sky in the day's last display of brilliance. Rouge put her hands on her hips and sighed, turning to scoop up the blanket to begin folding it.

"We should get going before it gets too dark," she said, her voice once again cheerfully playful. Amy blinked and gave a her weak smile, nodding as she grabbed her basket full of fruit. Without another word and their backs to the setting sun, they walked together back towards the Chaotix base.


	7. Chapter 7: Bond

Rouge began to meet Amy for her daily walks at the Chaotix HQ in the morning—then she would escort her back in the evenings. The time they had together between then would be spent talking about anything and everything that caught their interest.

After their 'talk' in Strawberry Fields, Amy began to give Rouge the benefit of the doubt and Rouge returned the favor. The infamous jewel thief's softer side began to show itself; even as she still teased Amy, her quips were far gentler than before. She was good natured in her ribbing rather than mean spirited—and Amy had noticed this almost drastic change in the bat.

While Rouge would regale her with stories of her past crimes, Amy would chime in with stories of her own adventures with her friends back home in Knothole. The pink hedgehog could feel a shift occur between the two of them, but she couldn't put a name to this new, blossoming feeling. Whatever had been sown between them in Strawberry Fields was growing stronger with each day spent together—and it felt good. Certainly better than the animosity that had been there in their prior encounters.

On their longest walk to date, Rouge had led Amy to some of the Echidna ruins near the center of Angel Island. Nature had reclaimed most of the ruined city, but there were glimpses of intricately crafted marble beneath the greenery of vines and ivy.

They followed an overgrown cobble road into the heart of the ruins, to what must have once been a glorious courtyard. In the center stood a chipped basin of marble—a fountain with ambiguously shaped statuettes sitting on its edge, their true identities lost to the elements of an inordinate amount of years.

Amy looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as she tried to gauge how long their trip had taken them. She sighed and headed towards the edge of the fountain, setting her knapsack down on the marbled surface.

"We made good time with that shortcut of yours," she hummed cheerfully as she searched through her bag to find some of the rations she had packed for their excursion. She heard Rouge chuckle as she followed her, sighing as she took a seat beside one of the statuettes, draping an arm over it as she rested.

"Of course we did—I told you, I know this Island like the back of my hand," the bat replied coolly, looking around them at the decaying landmarks of a once proud city.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I can still be impressed though, can't I?" Amy giggled and held up a bag of trail mix triumphantly, grinning as she handed it over to her companion. Rouge smiled at her as she took the bag, taking the first handful before handing it back.

"Hm. Took you long enough, didn't it?" She teased and turned to sit with her back leaning up against the weathered carving. Amy rolled her eyes and took a seat beside her, kicking her feet up onto the bit of space left between them as she started to pick through the bag of trail mix.

They ate in comfortable silence, contented to just admire the scene before them as the sun slowly began to dip lower and lower into the western sky overhead, bathing them both in a pink hued light. A warm breeze blew through the crumbling arches and columns, bringing the faint smell of jasmine flowers to them.

_They must be blooming this time of year, _Amy briefly thought, glancing over to Rouge to mention it to her. She paused with the words half formed in her mouth as her gaze met the bat's—her heart nearly skipped a beat.

In the light of the dying day, Rouge looked even more stunning than she did normally. The soft red hues that danced through her fur made it look like she was glowing—a rose colored angel. Her teal eyes glowed with the same light. At first glance, they stared back at Amy, now alluringly purple—the color of royalty befitting the batty burglar who hunted for the finer things in life.

Amy swallowed the dryness that had unexpectedly filled her mouth in what must have only mere seconds as they exchanged a glance. She quickly turned away, pretending to dig through the knapsack for some other item as her thoughts began to swim wildly inside her head.

_What was that?! _She frowned to herself, staring blankly at the supplies she had packed. _That was **weird… **She didn't feel—whatever **that** was, right…?_

Amy nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a gentle hand on her back, stifling a gasp as she turned back to face Rouge. She blinked rapidly until that rosy vision from earlier disappeared—in its place sat her friend, a look of concern on her face.

"I said did you lose something?" Rouge repeated, keeping her hand on Amy's back as she leaned to look over her shoulder into the knapsack the pink hedgehog was almost elbow deep into . Amy's cheeks grew hot in embarrassment, turning her gaze away as she realized she had gotten caught up in her own head again.

"Oh, I—just couldn't find my flashlight," she said sheepishly, letting out a nervous laugh as she pulled away, displaying the flashlight for Rouge to see. "Looks like we might need it on our way back…"

Rouge's concern faded and she pulled back, pausing a moment beside Amy before standing up. She dusted herself off and turned to her with a small smile, extending a hand to help her up. Amy took it hesitantly, smiling back as she stood. She reached down and scooped up the knapsack, and with her flashlight at the ready, began to head back the way Rouge had led them.

The walk back to the base was, for the most part, quiet—neither of them spoke much. Amy didn't have the words or bravery to mention what had happened earlier between them. Rouge didn't seem to have noticed it, anyway. Or at least, Amy had thought so, until Rouge reached for her hand in the darkness as they walked.

Amy shuddered at the electrifying shock such a small touch brought—she didn't dare look at her batty friend and kept her eyes low to the ground, trying her best not to trip in the darkness. She could hardly concentrate on her feet as her heartbeat thundered loudly against her eardrums and her breathing came quick and short.

_At least she's not letting you get yourself lost,_ she half-heartedly chastised herself as she followed Rouge's lead.

The walk seemed to last for hours, but eventually they made it back to the base. Fluorescent lights lit up the night around them—a beacon in the storm that had been stirred up inside Amy's overactive imagination. Still hand-in- sweaty hand with Rouge, Amy walked up the entrance of the base.

When they got to the door that led inside, Amy finally pulled her hand away from Rouge, rubbing at her arm bashfully as she tried to work up the courage to look her in the eye again.

"Um, Rouge—"she began, glancing up just in time to see Rouge take a step towards her, closing the little distance between them. The bat lifted a gloved hand to touch Amy's cheek, cupping the curve of her face gently in the palm of her hand as she tilted Amy's head up to look directly into the pink hedgehog's emerald eyes.

There was a moment's pause. Amy's voice got caught in her throat as Rouge leaned her face in closer to her own. Instinctually, she closed her eyes, feeling her own body lean forward into Rouge's until her lips were met with soft warmth.

Her heart fluttered in her chest as she melted into it, the flashlight limply falling to the ground as her hands blindly and clumsily searched for Rouge's shoulders. She could feel pressure on her waist as Rouge wrapped her free arm around her, holding her tenderly as they kissed, while her other hand began to run inquisitively through Amy's quills.

She gasped softly for air when the kiss finally broke, reaching up to press her fingers against her lips as she opened her eyes, staring deeply in Rouge's own. Amy stuttered, her tongue tripping over the words her brain was still too hazy from the surprise kiss to form. Rouge shushed her gently and leaned in again. She took Amy's hand in her own to pull it away from her mouth to kiss her again.

Again, Amy melted into it. Her shoulders relaxed, dropping her knapsack onto the ground alongside the flashlight. She gripped Rouge's hand tightly, their fingers lacing together as Rouge took the lead once again. The bat pulled away almost completely this time—only holding Amy's hand like a lifeline. She said nothing. At this point, she didn't have to. Amy only had eyes for her as Rouge gently pulled her inside. Even in her naivety, she could sense what was going to happen next as they wordlessly turned down the hallway towards the sleeping quarters.

She couldn't think anymore—all her thoughts were blurry after the first kiss. All she knew was the longing hidden deep inside her melted away when Rouge touched her. She followed her heart, and the thief in front of her, into her bedroom, and shut the door softly behind her.

Rouge was to be a thief of a different kind that night on Angel Island.


	8. Chapter 8: Homestead

Sally Acorn had let herself be consumed with worry as soon as Amy had left her after confessing two things to her: one, that Amy was, in fact, a lesbian; and, two, that she had romantic feelings for her.

As soon as the pink hedgehog had unceremoniously dumped that new information on her, she disappeared from Knothole Village. Sally had gone to her house to check on her a few days later. She had thought Amy had calmed down enough to talk through this situation they suddenly found themselves in, but no one was home. It was only when she began asking around for her friend did she run into Tails, who had told her about Amy fleeing to Angel Island. Presumably, it was a trip to get away from _her_.

_This isn't good_, Sally thought with a sigh, biting at her thumb as she paced to and fro in her living room. She had known Amy to be a bit reckless in the past—an unfortunate side effect of her determination, as well as her short temper—but she wasn't a coward. The Amy Rose she knew would charge head and hammer first into all kinds of danger.

She stopped and frowned to herself, folding her arms across her chest. Maybe the Amy Rose she had known up until now wasn't the real Amy. Sally looked up and saw the framed pictures on her wall, easily picking out the one where she stood arm-in-arm with the pink hedgehog, grinning at the camera.

_No, that's stupid. Amy's still Amy_, Sally firmly told herself. She shook her head, chasing those thoughts away as she took a seat in her favorite armchair. She sank down into it and began to rhythmically tap her fingers against her temple, staring up at that picture of the two of them together.

Amy's confession hadn't changed the way Sally felt about her friend of many years; of course, it was surprising to hear Amy was interested in her, but it hadn't bothered Sally in the least bit. It didn't matter to Sally that Amy was gay—they had been through too much together for her to dismiss her friend on such a small detail. Amy was much more than just her sexual orientation. She was strong, brave, and a wonderful friend to Sally.

Of course, she didn't say any of this when she had confessed to her. Sally shut her eyes and hit the arm of her chair with a fist, letting out a frustrated sigh. She should have said as much while Amy sat across from her with tears in her eyes. But of course, Sally had to hesitate and say _none of this_. Now Amy was several hundred miles away on Angel Island, hiding from the one person she needed most—the one person she _thought_ she could trust the most.

_Another famous Acorn blunder_, she thought bitterly, bringing a hand up to run it through her hair. She turned her gaze away from the picture on the wall as a stone of guilt formed in her stomach. How was she to rule her people if she could hardly handle something this small scale? A princess should be a master of diplomacy, after all. This was becoming a master class of errors the longer she left it to fester.

She needed to fix this— but how on Mobius was she supposed to do that now? Amy had been gone for weeks now. All Sally had been doing was reassuring herself she still saw Amy as a trusted friend. She had just been stalling, and that fact made her insides twist in shame.

_I'm awful_. Sally leaned forward in her seat, holding her head in her hands. She shut her eyes tightly and gripped at her hair. She was trapped in one of her overanalyzing loops—highlighting every possible way her plans could go horribly wrong. It made her a careful strategist, but right now, she needed to act. She needed someone with Amy's drive to snap her out of it.

A knock at the front door brought her back down to reality. She looked up and sighed quietly, getting up to answer the door. She tried to push the Amy problem as far back as she could—whatever the knock was about would need her immediate attention.

Sally opened the door and couldn't help but smile when she saw Sonic standing on her doorstep. He had always helped her look on the brighter side of things—his visit was just what she needed.

"Hey, Sal," the blur grinned as she stepped outside to greet him. "Wanna go for a walk? You look like you could use some fresh air." He offered a hand to her, looking up at her expectantly. Sally snorted and took his hand in her own.

"Maybe you're right… But it's a _walk_, not a _run_. Got it, hotshot?" She gently teased, letting out a small giggle as Sonic rolled his eyes and nodded to her.

Sally let Sonic take the lead as they walked through Knothole, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. She had to hand it to him; he was right about getting outside. Eventually the two of them made their way to the Power Ring Spring grotto. In the past, the two of them had made it their unofficial meeting place—many a private conversation had been had on its banks, and that put Sally back on edge.

_What are we doing here?_ She turned to him in nervous curiosity, blinking in surprise as Sonic pulled away from her. He smiled at her and scratched at the back of his neck, uncharacteristically shy as he knelt down on one knee.

"Sonic?" Sally took a step back from him with a small frown. He reach forward and took her hand in his, holding it tightly. He looked up at her with a determined glint in his emerald eyes.

"Sally, we've been through a lot together," he began, obviously trying his best to pull a speech from thin air. He paused and swallowed hard. "I really think the connection we have is something real special, Sal. We make a great team together and I want to take this partnership to the next level." Sally froze as she watched Sonic pull something out from behind his back; in his hand was a small wreath of her favorite flowers, small enough to fit on a finger.

"I don't have a _real_ ring yet, but… I figured this could make due for now," Sonic mumbled, slipping it onto her finger before he looked her in the eye again. His gaze was soft, vulnerable like she had never seen in him before. Sally's hand shook in his grip; she broke the gaze and looked down, staring at the ring.

_What do I say? _She slowly pulled her hand away from him, bringing it to her chest. She could feel her heart thumping against her rib-cage as panic started to set in.

The two of them had always had a casual sort of relationship—they were never an _official _couple. They had both dated around in the past, but they somehow always ended back at each other's side in the end. It was something unspoken between them—this playful attraction that had never really gotten serious.

They had their moments here and there, of course, but Sally had never expected this from Sonic. He had blindsided her. Of course, it had to be at one of the worst times to do so. He always _did_ rush into things ahead of schedule.

She shut her eyes and turned away from him, clenching her hand into a fist over her heart, trying to get a grip on herself. She needed think logically about the situation she was suddenly thrust into. As she tried to think through her words, her mind kept drifting back to Amy.

_Figures that they **both** pull this kind of stunt at the same time_. Sally frowned to herself. She shook her head; she needed to think about **_Sonic_** right now, not **_Amy_**. Trying as hard as she could, however, Sally just couldn't close the dam on the stream of consciousness that focused in on the pink hedgehog. Instead, it began to overflow and overwhelm her.

Everything came rushing back to Sally, who was now helpless as her memories swarmed her. Every moment alone together, laughing and telling stories; every moment they helped pick the other up after they hit rock bottom; every battle they fought back-to-back. Amy had always been there for Sally. She realized that now. She also realized her heart was beating fast now for an entirely _different_ reason.

Sally's eyes shot open, brought back out of her thoughts by the hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Sonic—his eyes now filled with worry.

"Sal? What do you say?" He asked with an insistent expectancy in his voice. Sally frowned back at him, once again looking down at the ring. She was taking too long to answer him—and she needed to answer.

_Go with your gut, Acorn. _

Sally sighed heavily as she slowly turned back to face him, slipping the ring off her finger. She held it gently, reaching for Sonic's hand with her own. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile as she placed the ring back into his hand, curling his fingers over it.

"Sonic, I couldn't have gotten this far without you, and I'll always be grateful to you for everything you've done," she started, her voice quiet but firm. "but this is as far as I want us to go. No. I won't marry you."

Sally felt her insides twist as she watched Sonic's face go from hopeful optimism to quiet realization. The hero frowned and let his hand fall to his side, looking away with a furrowed brow. She stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder—Sonic flinched away from her and turned, putting his arms up behind his head with a long sigh.

"Well, I guess it was just a pipe-dream after all," he said, tilting his head up to look at the sky with feigned interest. "I mean, we still have that egghead Robuttnik to take care of first. I guess we can't rest till he's gone. "

Sally smiled slightly at him and nodded, moving to stand beside him again. She glanced up at him and nudged him gently. He turned back at her and returned the smile, holding out a hand to her. She took it. They firmly shook hands and Sonic pulled away with a small laugh. It seemed he was taking this, like with all things in his life, in stride.

"Guess we'll just forget this even happened, huh?" Sally blinked and hesitated for a moment, once again being thrown back to the last time she had seen Amy. As she was reminded of her missing friend, a new sense of urgency to bring her home bubbled up from deep within her chest.

"Yeah, guess we will," she eventually replied. She looked back over her shoulder towards Knothole, biting her lip as she finally made up her mind. "Hey… Do you think Tails could give me a ride somewhere?"


	9. Chapter 9: New Beginnings

Amy rolled onto her side and let out a long yawn as she stretched out on her bed. Her arm hit something beside her. Turning in surprise, she saw Rouge was in bed beside her, flipping through a book in bored disinterest. The still naked bat glanced over at Amy when she bumped into her and a smile came across her face.

"Morning," Rouge cooed, her voice and smile overly sweet. Amy scrambled to sit up beside her and pulled her blankets up to cover her own modesty. The way Rouge looked at her made her face—and body—flare hot with a feeling she hadn't known until the night before.

"Morning," Amy echoed. She looked over her shoulder to avoid Rouge's gaze and saw their clothes were still strewn about on the floor just beside the bed. A flash of what had transpired between the two of them came back to her and she sucked in a sharp breath as the realization struck her like a knife to the heart.

_Why did we **do** that? _Amy wailed to herself, clutching the blankets tighter. She didn't know how they ended up in her bedroom. Everything after the kiss seemed to happen so fast. She must have gotten swept up in the heat of the moment—and it felt so right at the time. But now, in the light of the new day, she couldn't help but feel terrible about it.

What was going to happen between the two of them now? She finally had found a bit of solace from her self-imposed exile in her newfound friendship with Rouge. What if that was all ruined now that they had slept together on an impulse?

That wasn't the only problem. Even though her body had been with Rouge, Amy's mind had found itself going back to Sally. She had been attracted to Rouge, but only physically—her heart and mind still wanted Sally. How was she going to explain that to Rouge?

A hand on her lower back brought Amy back down from her thoughts and she turned to see Rouge had set her book aside to face her. Her face was passive, but her large, teal eyes betrayed the concern she had for the pink hedgehog. Amy opened her mouth to say something and break the oppressive silence hanging over them, but Rouge was faster.

"Amy, try not to overthink this," she said softly. Amy froze and looked back at her with wide eyes.

_Was I that obvious about it?_

Rouge furrowed her brow and moved her hand up to Amy's shoulder, leaning back from her bedmate before continuing. "Last night was fun and all, but that's all it was. You're a sweet girl, Amy, and…" She trailed off and turned her face away as she thought. "You don't want to get mixed up with someone like me. You deserve a fairytale ending, not an awful unresolved mess."

Amy watched in stunned silence as Rouge wordlessly got up out of the bed and began to put her clothes back on with practiced speed, her back to her. The bat must have been mistaken about the cause of her surprise.

Amy brought her legs over the side of the bed, reaching out to take Rouge's hand and squeezing it within her own. She looked at her over her shoulder with a glance that was much colder than before. It almost made Amy shrink back, but the pink hedgehog held her ground.

"Rouge, I don't… I just—"her words caught in her throat as she tried to think of what she should say, but she had never done something like this before. She would just have to let herself speak honestly from her heart. "I just want to go back to being friends. That's all I really want …"

The icy exterior that Rouge had put up began to melt and she turned to face her once again with soft eyes. The situation seemed to have been properly diffused, much to Amy's relief. The air between them had changed—it was no longer awkward, defensive hostility. In its' place was an understanding, relieved acceptance. Rouge let out a small chuckle and gave Amy a short nod, squeezing her hand back as she stood up to get dressed beside her batty friend.

Rouge had waited for Amy to finish dressing and they walked out of the Chaotix HQ together. The morning was warm and the sun was already shining brightly, undeterred by the few clouds drifting lazily overhead.

They walked together silently for a little ways before Amy stopped dead in her tracks, gasping. From where they stood, she could see the familiar shape of the Tornado on the base's landing pad, along with the distant forms of Tails, Knuckles, and—

_Is that… **Sally**? _Her heart leapt up into her throat, choking her and making her lightheaded. What was she doing here? And why, of all times, was she here **_now?_**

Scenario after scenario began to race through her mind, her head swimming as her stomach twisted itself into nervous knots. She had thought that maybe time and space between them would have helped, but it only seemed to have made it worse.

"Looks like your ride's here." Amy glanced over at Rouge and saw she had returned to her usual distantly playful self. She patted Amy on the back and gave her a small smile. "I guess I'll see you around some time. Try not to be a stranger," she chuckled and pulled back with a casual wave. She turned her back to Amy and with a flap of her wings, she was headed off in the opposite direction.

Amy watched her until she disappeared into the distance. She sighed heavily as she turned back towards the Tornado and her friends. She would have to face them on her own. She shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath, clenching her hands into fists as she gathered all her courage to finally confront the problem she had fled nearly a month ago.

_Alright, Amy. Nowhere to run now. Let's get this over with._

Her approach was slow; her feet felt like lead weights beneath her. She pushed through and tried to concentrate on keeping her breathing level, trying to stop her heart from hammering away at her ribcage.

Her friends came clearer into view as she got closer. Tails was giving another stack of letters to Knuckles, who seemed to have his own smaller stack to hand over. They were talking about something—Sally only seemed to be partly interested in the conversation. Then the princess turned, almost expectantly, towards the Chaotix base. That was when she saw Amy.

She swallowed hard as she watched Sally wave and break out into a jog to meet her, the weights in Amy's feet suddenly magnetizing to the ground and freezing her in place.

As Sally got closer, she could make out the look on the princess's face—brows furrowed, lips curled into a frown, her eyes burning bright with determination. Amy felt all the color drain out of her own face, a cold wash running down her body.

_Is she mad at me? Why wouldn't she be, she probably **hates** me! _She brought her hands up to her chest defensively, a pit of regret growing in her stomach as Sally's jog turned into a full on sprint.

Amy shut her eyes tightly and flinched away from her, expecting either a lecture or a smack when Sally finally reached her.

Instead, she was nearly thrown off her feet as Sally threw her arms around the panicked pink hedgehog, embracing her tightly. Amy stumbled but caught her balance, her body stiff in surprise as Sally hugged her.

"Amy, I'm sorry!" Sally's voice was hushed in Amy's ear and she could hear the cracks as an intense emotion took over the princess. "I should've come earlier, but I… I didn't know how much I **_needed_** you with me…" Hot drops fell onto Amy's shoulder—Sally was crying. She wasn't mad at Amy after all.

_She… **Missed me**…_

All her bottled up emotions finally erupted. Amy's heart had ached for weeks and her dreams had been plagued with thoughts of the ground squirrel currently clinging to her. She hugged Sally back, holding onto her just as tightly as she was being held. Tears pricked at her eyes and she quickly shut them, burying her face into Sally's shoulder as she started to try and blubber out some form of apology.

"Sally, I—I'm so sorry," she sobbed, gripping at the back of Sally's jacket tightly. "I'm so—so **_stupid_**, I just thought—maybe I could **_fix it_** all if I left!" Her knees went out from under her and Amy clung to the taller princess for support as she cried into her shoulder. Sally's grip tightened and the both of them slowly sank to the ground in a tangled mess of tears at their reunion.

It was a few minutes before either of them regained any semblance of composure. They pulled apart slowly and Amy could now see the bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks of Sally. She was smiling through the tears at her—Amy was smiling, too.

They laughed and rubbed at their eyes, Sally reaching out to take Amy's hand after they had calmed down a bit. Her heart swelled at the touch and she looked up into clear blue eyes; deep within them, she could see warmth burning… _for her_.

"Amy," Sally said, her voice practically a whisper, sending a shiver up Amy's spine. "Come home, please… We—**_I_** need you." The princess held Amy's hand tightly and looked at her expectantly, pleadingly. Amy bit her lip and looked down at their hands, slowly lacing their fingers together.

Rouge's words echoed back to her; _you deserve a fairytale ending. _Amy couldn't help but smile to herself. Sally had come for her, to bring her home and to tell her she needed her at her side. Her heavy heart now felt lighter than air as she looked back into the warm eyes of her princess.

_Well… It sure **feels** like one…_

Amy's daydream thoughts faded when Sally squeezed her hand, her hopeful expression now shadowed by an underlying nervousness. "Well, Amy? Will you come home with me?" She asked again, her voice more insistent.

Amy grinned back at her and wrapped her free arm around Sally's neck, pulling her into another hug. She was certain now that she wouldn't need to be afraid of letting go of Sally ever again.

"Yes, Your Highness."


End file.
